Swamp Girl! Chapter 44

Rupert is strong.
Overwhelmingly so. Even outnumbered ten to one, I’d still bet on him.
At this level, you might even call his strength phenomenal. I’d expect no less from a commander in the Elite Guard.

“Uhahaha–! What’s wrong! So the Mad Dog’s all bark and no bite!?”

“Don’t f.u.c.k with me — !”

But there’s always someone better. And here’s the proof.

At a glance, the two of them seemed equally matched, but little by little, the battle was swinging in Maddox’s favor. Even now, they appeared to be standing on equal footing. But between the two of them, Rupert’s injuries were growing in number. And Maddox was unscathed.

Sword hit sword.

Both of them unleashed their finishers. For the battle to end with a performance of this caliber, it was a clear demonstration of both combatants’ absurd ability. No half-a.s.sed joker would’ve been able to last more than a few seconds. From the beginning, this was a serious match.

And yet Rupert didn’t stop. He didn’t let his deteriorating condition get in his way.
He was a tricky guy, so his style had an emphasis on mobility. And that was slowly being whittled away. It wasn’t hard to imagine that before long, the balance between them would collapse catastrophically.

But I couldn’t give him any a.s.sistance.
I didn’t know how strong Leopard and Leon were, but this was no longer an ordinary fight, and there was no room for a third player.
At her level of strength, Palmira would be cut in two the moment she stepped in.

And Leopard, who’d been trying to wrench open the closed door for some time now, was growing desperate. Looks like he planned to let Leon get away, even if it was by himself.
However, his efforts hadn’t borne fruit so far.
It wasn’t much of a surprise; they’d been lured here to begin with. The lock was stubborn, and the door, st.u.r.dy.

“Irene! Can’t you open this thing with magic!?”

If Rupert lost, then no doubt Maddox would live up to his t.i.tle and slaughter us all.
Fighting him was out of the question. We’d have to escape somehow. Get as far away from this place as our legs could take us.

“Don’t think that magic can solve everything!”

I knew that I was asking for something unreasonable.
But even so, I couldn’t help but yell, grasping at that single ray of hope. She had to know it too. That if Rupert fell, we’d all die with him.
My face ghastly pale, I pounded on the door in desperation.
It was futile. To put it bluntly, it was close to madness.

But Irene was right all the same.
Truth be told, it was only thanks to Rupert that we were all still breathing.
I could see death coming ever closer. How could I possibly stay calm in this situation?
I glanced at Leon.
Although his brow was slightly furrowed, I couldn’t detect any fear in him. Is he that confident of Rupert’s victory? Or —
But, if I just sit on my hands like this, it’s not just my life at stake here, but Leon’s, Aira’s, Palmira’s.
Leon’s a cla.s.sic target. He’s probably destined to die by another’s hand someday.

That’s the one d.a.m.n thing I won’t stand for.
I rea.s.sured myself with the sensation of the invocation stone in my hand. The power I fired off back then — I didn’t know if I could summon it again.
But right now, that gamble was all I had.

–

–

The fight before me escalated in intensity.
Though he was hard-pressed, Rupert nonetheless counterattacked with a howl.
‘Mad Dog’, Maddox called him, but that’s exactly what he was.

“UGGAAAAAaah!”

Rupert, his body already covered with wounds, dashed forward with superhuman agility. Sending debris flying, he seemed to teleport behind Maddox, swinging his swords.
But those swords were stopped dead by Maddox’s blade. Then, sword flas.h.i.+ng, Maddox retaliated with a slash. Though Rupert was able to avoid the worst of it, he might have underestimated Maddox’s reach, because he came away with more sc.r.a.pes.

“GAAaAaaAAH!”

Once out of range, ‘Gahaa,’ Rupert took a deep breath through his mouth. Cuts criss-crossed his body from head to toe, the clothing on his torso already in tatters. He was almost half-naked.
The dual blades he held ready were nicked all over from taking those terrifying superhuman slashes over and over again.
It was a miracle that they hadn’t snapped by now.

“What’s wrong, Mad Dog! Entertain me some more!”

roared Maddox in response.
Both of them were absolute monsters.

In one corner, a fanged beast advancing on instinct, its reason blown away by a berserker rage. In the other, a barbaric brute delighting in his mad destruction.

Seeking to measure their strength, inherently driven to crush their opponents, striking with the greatest destructive forces they possessed — in that, they were pure.
The realization crept up on us, and we were paralyzed by the time we noticed.
Despite the savagery, I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I even found a brutal beauty in it, the clash of powers leaving me speechless.

“Gah, haah…haah…haah–”

The battle was nearing its end, too.
Distancing himself from Maddox, Rupert stopped his continuous onslaught. His arms hung loosely as he tried to catch his breath.
Seeing that, Maddox grinned ferociously and raised his sword again in his two-handed grip.

The next exchange would be the last.
Aira clutched my arm hard.
A calm so ominous even a layman, no matter how untrained their eye, could instinctively sense it.
Unconsciously, I swallowed hard. The gulping sound lingered in my ears, terribly loud.

“AaaAAAa…RUAAAaaaaAAAAHH!”

That voice was no longer human.

Roaring, with a single step, Rupert vanished from where he stood. That was all my eyes could follow.
The only evidence was the rolling cloud of dust he left behind.

In the next moment, a crack! sounded out from Maddox’s chest, and I found the missing Rupert there.

It was Rupert’s sword that had broken. And Maddox’s blade that did the breaking. Then Maddox’s foot smashed into Rupert’s gut, doubling him over at the point of impact. The giant’s face twisted with an animal ecstasy.
That was all I was able to catch.

“GUuAahh…”

His eyes wide open, Rupert vomited blood. I thought I heard something cracking.
And it all took place in a single moment.
Then the impact of the strike blew Rupert away like a twig, his body cras.h.i.+ng into the wooden boxes stacked further in.

Rupert — lost.
Though I half-expected it, the despair punched me in the gut.

“Rupert!!!”

Palmira screamed.
She might be the most shocked by this conclusion to the fight. She knew from continuous experience just how strong he was. This must have been unbelievable for her.
On the other hand, that uncharacteristic scream jolted my mind out of its paralyzed shock.
As I planned in my head, I took several steps forward, and holding out the invocation stone gripped in my hand, I shouted,

“ジ!”

The invocation stone sitting on my outstretched palm began to glow red hot.
But at that moment, with a small shattering sound, the stone vanished.

“Wh…!”

With the disappearance of my trump card, my mind couldn’t process what had just happened.
But a moment later, I understood. Just as it seemed to disappear from my hand, the sword-wielding figure of Maddox appeared.

“…A magus, is it. But at this distance, I don’t think you’ll be able to get the incantation off in time.”

Maddox’s emotionless voice echoed in my ears.

This can’t, this can’t…!

In despair, my legs quaked and my knees gave way. Again, my teeth chattered with fear.
Though unintentional, I felt something warm wetting my inner thigh. Yet I couldn’t even summon the scorn for my pathetic state. Again, my mind froze in terror.

“Chris!”

As I was about to collapse then and there, Leon supported me from behind.
My eyes wouldn’t leave Maddox, like they were stuck to him. Forcing myself to tear my gaze away, I turned my head back to see Leon in my blurry vision.

His gaze was directed at me, and me alone.

Even though he was stiff, his eyes looked worried.

Ahh, why? Why is that?

…the one who’s in danger here is you, you know…

“Ugh–…hgh–…”

My voice wouldn’t come out from my throat. Instead, tears welled up in my eyes and spilled over uncontrollably.

“…So…what are your intentions?”

In my vision, pathetically distorted by tears, Leon glared at Maddox without wavering.
Leopard stepped out in front, standing at the ready. He was s.h.i.+elding Aira, Palmira, and Irene.
…’What are your intentions’ indeed. I mulled the question over in my muddled mind. Maddox. And Leon.

“Well, Rupert was just a bonus. You’re the star of this show. I even summoned a dragon to set the stage for you. So just curse your bad luck and give up.”

His words brought me back to my senses. So Leon was his target after all.

“Who… are you working for?”

Leon matched him, smile for smile.

“I’m not in the habit of doing favors for the dead. I got no reason to tell you.”

I could save him. Even now, I could support him.

“…I see. But myself aside, you can’t afford to strike down these people.”

Is he — going to kill Leon?
Is he going to kill Aira? Palmira?

I won’t let him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a blue flame burst into life. No question ‘why’. No doubt. Now, I can see everything.
I clenched my teeth.
I have to protect them. Leon, everyone, I have to protect them.

“ジ!”

I shouted, shaking off my tears and fixing my glare on Maddox.
I didn’t have an invocation stone. But it appeared before me, revolving: a circular labyrinth of blue light.
And I put Maddox dead center.

“What!?”

For only a moment, Maddox faltered. He wasn’t expecting this, I bet. For me, that one moment was enough. I didn’t need the symbols.

I focused my will on the image. Destroy. Target: straight ahead. The man in front of me –– pulverize him.

The circle stopped —

“AAAAHH–!”

A light flashed across my eyes, along with a strangled cry.
At the same time, something was released from my body. Within the s.p.a.ce of a moment, Maddox, his arms up to protect himself, leapt back.

How pointless. Crush him.

“GAAH–!”

Struck by a wave of my unseen power, Maddox’s large frame went flying backward.

Crush him — !

Then, he crashed his way through the wall and vanished on the other side.

“Haa–…ha…”

I glared even more savagely at the place where he disappeared. I suspected that he’d be getting up again.
But, despite my wishes, the strength drained from my body.
The circle of light melted away, and my knees gave out again.

“Chris!?”

Like before, Leon was supporting me.
But I refused to take my eyes off the hole in the wall. I didn’t know if I could use that power again.
But I also couldn’t imagine Maddox dying from that at all.

But the power was gone. There was something missing. Little by little, darkness ate away at my vision.
Not yet. I can’t yet.

“Chris! Are you alright!? Chris!”

My eyes could no longer see. All I could hear was Leon’s voice, calling my name over and over again.
Rather than worry about me, you have to — do something about that guy — .

Ahhh, but —
It’s warm.

I felt this same warmth not long ago, I think.
When was that? Before I could remember, my mind shut down.